While the Guyana economy is still some distance away from beginning to factor oil revenues into the country’s economic fortunes, it is not too soon for the administration here to learn critical lessons from its close Caricom sister country, oil-rich Trinidad and Tobago. The twin-island republic has never been able to resist the temptation to parade the fortunes accruing from its oil and gas resources, though, over time, it has learnt that wasting resources, the fortunes of which depend heavily on the vagaries of global price fluctuations can often be unreliable economic allies.
Earlier this month, the administration of Prime Minister Keith Rowley was given a sharp reminder of the vicissitudes
